The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center (PRC) announces it has awarded four High Impact Innovative Assistive Technology (HIIAT) Quality of Life Grants, totaling $300,000, to fund projects including accessible electronic gaming, smart home assistive technology, and mobility assistance programs.
The Quality of Life Grants Program supports nonprofit organizations that empower individuals living with paralysis. Since the program’s inception, over 3,150 grants totaling over $26 million have been awarded. Funding for this new cycle of grants was made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (ACL grant #90PRRC0002-02-00).
Launched in 2015, in partnership with ACL, the HIIAT grants program has awarded 23 grants totaling $1,684,788. The program funds 1-year grants of up to $75,000 to state and territory Assistive Technology programs funded through the State Assistive Technology Act, including implementing agencies and agencies subcontracted for Assistive Technology (Section 4) activities, for innovative, one-time programs that through assistive technology devices or services, increase access to services, and increase the independence or inclusion of people living with paralysis, their family members and caregivers, a media release from Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation explains.
“The impact of assistive technology on the lives of individuals and families living with paralysis and cross-disabilities is substantial,” says Mark Bogosian, Director, Quality of Life Grants Program, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, in the release.
“Through our HIIAT grants program the Reeve Foundation pledges to continue its role in ensuring that this ever-growing, ever-changing field benefits those we serve.”
The Reeve Foundation funded a wide variety of projects from accessible electronic gaming to smart home assistive technology and mobility assistance programs.
The recipients of the HIIAT Grant are:
Assistive Technology for Kansans (ATK)
Parsons, KS
$75,000 for the project, Accessible Recreation: Playing Electronic Games Independently to Increase Health & Social Connection, to increase access to electronic gaming through the creation of an accessible gaming equipment loan program. Grant funds will support the development of the accessible gaming equipment loan program in three of ATK’s locations throughout the state.
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
Louisville, KY
$75,000 for the My New Kentucky Smart Home project to provide smart home AT equipment loans to Kentuckians living with paralysis to enable them to begin automating various functions in their home that will increase and enhance independence, promote safety and help make informed smart home AT decisions to affect their quality of life.
Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Stillwater, OK
$75,000 for #Oklahoma4Ramps, a program that will purchase, store, and provide short-term loans of portable ramps, thresholds and other equipment to Oklahomans with paralysis. #Oklahoma4Ramps will provide free, safe equipment to allow individuals with paralysis and cross disabilities to leave their homes, participate in community activities and live a more active, independent lifestyle.
West Virginia University Foundation
Morgantown, WV
$75,000 for the Pay It Forward WV: Assistive Technology Device Reuse Project. Funds support a loan closet and device reuse program that provides youth aged 3-12 with mobility assistance and other durable medical equipment not covered by West Virginia Medicaid or private insurance. Pay It Forward WV places assistive technology directly into the hands of children and families in West Virginia who would otherwise be unable to access such equipment.
[Source(s): Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, PR Newswire]
